


A Lot Like Destiny

by mynothingness



Series: A Chance Meeting [2]
Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Crying, Cuddling, Family Feels, Fluff, Foster Care, Gen, Joe and Nicky are the best dads ever, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani and Nicky | Nicolò di Genova are in Love, Light Angst, M/M, Post-Canon, Soft Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani, Soft Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:00:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29900076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mynothingness/pseuds/mynothingness
Summary: Nile sank down to the couch, watching as Nicky walked straight into Joe’s arms – no hesitation, no moment of surprise – sliding his arms around Joe’s waist. As they stood there, slotted together like puzzle pieces, Nile could make out that Nicky was saying something, his head tucked into Joe’s neck, Joe listening intently, his head bent, his hand absently stroking Nicky’s back. When Nicky drew away a moment later, Nile felt her heart clench at the sight of him, his eyes and the nose red, his face damp.She had never, not in the five years she had been part of this dysfunctional family, ever seen the stoic Nicky cry.*Or what happens after Nicky gets back to the safe house from the coffeeshop.
Relationships: Booker | Sebastien le Livre & Nicky | Nicolo di Genova, Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova, Nicky | Nicolo di Genova & Original Character(s), Nile Freeman & Nicky | Nicolo di Genoa
Series: A Chance Meeting [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2198466
Comments: 26
Kudos: 214





	A Lot Like Destiny

**Author's Note:**

> This turned into an exploration of their previous fostering experience, and what it might look like in the future, and also of the Nile - Nicky dynamic, because I love it so much!  
> It again refers to events/themes in [BIA](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29377551), but it isn't essential to read that to understand this. As mentioned, this series is set in a nebulous future, five years after the end of the movie, when Quynh and Booker are back, and everyone is trying to heal and find their way forward as a team (and a family).  
> I hope you enjoy! <3

Joe and Booker were supposed to be watching a hockey game on the TV, but Joe’s attention was mostly on the front door of their safe house. He’d been on edge ever since Nile told him what had happened at the coffeeshop, and while it was understandable – she’d been more than a little rattled herself – she hated to see him fret this way. His leg was bouncing up and down, hands clasped tightly together between his knees, and his head would whip around to the door at the slightest sound from outside.

She glanced over at Booker, unsure of what to do. The only other times she’d seen Joe get this way, Nicky had been around to calm him down. They’d curl into one another, and Nicky would murmur softly to him in the mix of ancient languages that Booker had once told her not to ever bother deciphering. But now Nicky _was_ the source of anxiety, and Nile wasn’t sure what the protocol was.

Booker’s tired eyes met hers, and he gave her a single wordless shake of the head, which she interpreted to mean, ‘just let him be’ or ‘don’t get involved, it’s a JoeNicky thing’. Which, yeah, typically Booker. But it wasn’t in her nature to just sit by and watch a family member worry themselves like that. She was about to ignore Booker and say something to Joe anyway, when he jumped up and strode to the front door, throwing it open.

She was on her feet, wondering if he was going to do something impulsive like go after Nicky at the coffeeshop or something, when she saw Nicky walk in. How had Joe known? She’d been sitting _right there_ , facing the door, and she hadn’t seen or heard anything to suggest Nicky was back. She sank down to the couch, watching as the man walked straight into Joe’s arms – no hesitation, no moment of surprise – sliding his arms around Joe’s waist. As they stood there, slotted together like puzzle pieces, Nile could make out that Nicky was saying something, his head tucked into Joe’s neck, Joe listening intently, his head bent, his hand absently stroking Nicky’s back. When Nicky drew away a moment later, Nile felt her heart clench at the sight of him, his eyes and the nose red, his face damp.

She had never, not in the five years she had been part of this dysfunctional family, ever seen the stoic Nicky cry.

He wiped his face on the sleeve of his hoodie, and gave her a tiny smile. “I’m sorry about abandoning you at the coffeeshop, Nile,” he said, his voice sounding rough.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said softly.

She didn’t have a chance to say much more, as Joe put his arm around protectively around his shoulders and led him away, leaving her staring after them. When she turned to look at Booker, she found that he was watching them too. “I…” she began, and he turned to her, a kind look in his eyes. “I didn’t realize how upset he was. He seemed so calm back at the coffee place,”

He sighed. “This whole fostering thing hit him hard,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “He was with those kids for three and a half, nearly four years. Andy was away for the first year, doing her own thing – she’d found a crew off the coast of New England doing deep sea recovery work,” he said, and Nile nodded. _Quynh._ She had truly never given up.

“But after that, we started taking on missions, Joe included, and Nicky would stay behind.” Nile raised her eyebrows. “Yeah. It’s the only time I ever remember him voluntarily sitting out jobs. Then in ’95, Andy called us all in – it was during the tail-end of the Bosnian War, and it was a big job, needed all of us. Joe tried very hard to convince Andy we could manage, just the three of us. But it would have been too dangerous, and in the end, Nicky took the decision to have the children transferred to other homes, and leave with us.” He shook his head, staring right ahead at the screen. “Took him a long time to get over it. Hasn’t done it again since.”

Nile watched Booker’s face as he spoke. She had never been able to quite figure out his relationship with the two men, especially Nicky. The years since she had met them had been filled with such cataclysmic events – Booker’s betrayal, his subsequent banishment, and then his return with Quynh, and all that had followed – and there had been so much anger and hurt between them all. She was still trying to figure out what _normal_ between them looked like.

Before she could put her thoughts into words, he continued, still looking at the TV, “That’s why I got in touch with him when I found out that Allison was looking for him a few years ago. It was just before Quynh came back.”

Nile’s mouth fell open in surprise. “Wait, you mean he knew?” Then, as it occurred to her, she added, “I didn’t realize that you were in touch, during…”

“During my banishment?” he said, with a wry twist to his lips.

“Yeah.”

“I got in touch through Copley, and we exchanged a couple of messages, that’s all. The thing with Quynh happened shortly after, so…” he shrugged.

“How did you come to know?”

“I have these programs running that look for anyone searching for our old aliases online. Copley has far more sophisticated versions, but,” he huffed, “he didn’t catch this one. Wouldn’t have mattered to him, anyway, wouldn’t have made it on his Big Wall of The Old Guard, or whatever. It’s not world-changing or history-altering. But it’s important.”

She thought of the smile that had spread across the woman’s face when Nicky said he was Dr. Smith’s son. “Yeah,” she said quietly. She was touched by the vehemence in Booker’s voice. “But he didn’t reach out to her?”

“He decided it was better not to contact her, when all he would be able to give her were lies.”

She nodded. It made sense. And yet… she thought again of the way the woman’s weary face had lit up. “I guess fate had other plans.”

He gave her a look then that she couldn’t quite read. “You’re so much like him sometimes.” When she raised her eyebrows, he said, “Like Nicky.”

She bumped her shoulder against his. “That’s a good thing, right?”

The smile he gave her in return was warm, and just a little sad. “Yeah, yeah it is.”

*

Later that afternoon, she heard a knock on the door of the bedroom she was using, and looked up to see Nicky there. “Hey,” she said, putting her phone away. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine,” he said, with one of his barely-there smiles, and he did look okay, his usual calm, composed self. But as he sat down on the bed, she could see that he looked tired. “It was just…” He rubbed a hand over his face. “It was just a lot, all at once.” He dropped his hands, and looked her in the eyes. “I know you must have questions.”

Her heart melted. Of course he’d come to see if she needed to talk once he was on an even keel again himself. That was Nicky for you. Joe was her storyteller; he’d taken tremendous joy in spinning the wildest tales of their pasts for her, with Andy making outrageous additions and Nicky laughingly adding corrections. But from that first night, Nicky was the one she turned to if she had to discuss how she was feeling.

“Booker told me about some of it,” she said, and he nodded. “Were there other kids with you, apart from Allison?”

His face fell, and Nile knew it had been the wrong question to ask. Before she could say anything, he said, “There were five kids, in the beginning, including Ally, but four who were with me the entire stretch. Ally said… she said there’s only her left now.”

“I’m sorry, Nicky,” she said gently, reaching out to hold his hand.

He shook his head. “It was not unexpected.” He took a deep breath. “But Ally – she’s so amazing, Nile. I was blown away by her – how strong she is, how positive, how _good_ , in spite of all she has suffered _._ She’s working an AIDS charity now, doing amazing work.”

She squeezed his hand tight. “She learned from the best.”

He shook his head again. “I cannot take any credit for it. I was with her barely four years. And then I abandoned her, just like so many other adults had before me. I…” He swallowed hard, his jaw tightly clenched. “I think Ally gives me entirely too much credit for everything, in fact, considering how little I was actually able to do for them all.”

Nile considered her next words carefully. “Nicky,” she said, “I know four years seems like nothing to you, after all this time that you’ve lived. But I remember being mortal, okay? I remember being 10 or 11 or however old these kids were. And I’m telling you, four years in the life of a child is a _lot._ Those years were quite likely foundational for her, the years she remembers being the happiest and most secure. And that is _important._ ” He was listening to her intently, as was his way. “I don’t think you should dismiss the impact you had on her and the other children. There’s a reason why she’s spent years searching for you.”

For a moment, he didn’t say anything. Then he turned his hand so his wide palm was cradling hers. “You are very wise, Nile,” he said softly.

She gave him a little grin. “Well, Booker says I’m like _you_ , so.. _._ ”

His eyes widened. “He said that?” She nodded. “Well, I am honored.”

Before she could respond, his phone chimed, and he picked up, saying apologetically, “It’s Joe, he’s at the store.” She listened absently to his rapid Italian, trying to pick up a word here or there based on the lessons she’d been taking. She thought she heard ‘berry’, and sure enough, a moment later, Nicky said, “He says the blueberries are no good, Nile, are cranberries okay for breakfast tomorrow?”

She smiled. They were so cute, honestly. “Yeah, of course.”

“Joe,” he said, going back to the call, “that’s fine. Actually, pick up extra, because Andy and Quynh might be back. Raisins also.” He rolled his eyes. “Yes, I know you hate raisins, _habibi_. I’ll leave them out for you.”

Andy and Quynh had taken some time off to spend with each other, after all that had happened. So had rest of them, actually. Nile had gone to Malta with Joe and Nicky, to see their ancient little home, and heard the Malta Edition of Joe’s stories (the heavily edited, G-rated version, at her request). Now, they were all meeting up here again, and Nile found she couldn’t wait for the family to be complete.

He listened some more, and then turned to Nile, looking pained. “Joe is asking if you want him to buy the boxed abomination for you?”

She laughed. The ‘boxed abomination’ was Kraft’s Mac N Cheese, and god, yes, it had been ages since she’d last had it. She leaned forward toward the phone, and sing-songed, “Yes, please, Joe, thank you!”

A little more rapid Italian and Arabic, and he hung up. When he saw she was still smiling, he lifted his eyebrows at her. “What is it?”

“You guys are _such_ dads,” she said. Nicky to make them their favorite healthy meals, she thought, and Joe to spoil them all rotten.

He blushed, and okay, it was kind of adorable. “Ally said we were the best dads in the world.”

She couldn’t resist, she leaned over and gave him a kiss on one red cheek. “I absolutely agree.”

*

That night, as he lay in Joe’s arms, facing the open window with moonlight pouring in, Nicky couldn’t sleep, going over the day’s events again and again in his mind. He got like this sometimes, and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to settle down any time soon.

“Nicky,” Joe mumbled, his breath warm against the back of his neck. “I can hear you thinking, my heart _._ What’s wrong?”

He hesitated. “Today,” he began, “when I told Ally that we were together in Malta. I … I want that for us, Joe.”

“We just got back from Malta, Nicolò,” Joe said, and nipped playfully at Nicky’s earlobe. “But we can go again, I have no problem with _that._ ”

He huffed a laugh. “I know… that’s why that was the first thing that popped into my mind when she asked. No, I mean… I want to grow old with you, Joe, I want to sit at our house in Malta in our old age, and have our children and our grandchildren coming to visit. I want… I want a chance to have that.” He let out a shaky breath. “More than anything else.”

It was something they didn’t talk about much; their years of immortality had always seemed to stretch before them endlessly, and the only thing they’d cared about was that their gift, given to them together, be taken from them at the same time, that one was never left behind without the other. But since Andy had lost her immortality, it had been in their thoughts even more than usual. The what ifs. What would they do when they lost theirs? How would they want to live out the rest of their lives after it happened? Andy was absolutely certain she wanted to continue being part of The Old Guard, to keep fighting for as long as she could. But this morning, sitting in that coffeeshop opposite the woman he thought of as his daughter, he’d wanted nothing more than what he’d described to her. That peaceful retirement, with Joe by his side.

“I know it’s greedy,” he continued hastily, “I know we’ve already been given so much time, so many, many centuries together, and it’s more than I could have ever asked for. But…” He broke off as he felt it, the touch of wetness on the nape of his neck, and he turned quickly.

“Oh, my love,” he whispered, brushing away the tears that were making their way down Joe’s nose, “oh _tesoro,_ forgive me, I did not mean to upset you. I’m sorry.”

Joe didn’t reply, surging forward to press his lips against Nicky’s. Nicky let his hand wander down his beloved’s face, tracing the line of his beard as he kissed him back. “When Ally said how they all adored you, how you were the best…” he said, pulling away gently.

“If you’re trying to make me stop crying, _hayati,_ you’re doing a terrible job of it,” Joe said, his voice still choked with tears.

Nicky chuckled, and pressed another kiss to those soft lips. “I just…. I had to tell her, I had to let her know what you are to me. She is our family, and I wanted her to know this, even if I could tell her nothing else. And then I realized that I meant what I told her about us in Malta too. That’s how I picture us… after. That is what I want.”

He shut his eyes, feeling the uncertainty of their existence weighing heavily in the air around them. He believed deeply that their destinies were entwined together, yes, but there was a hidden fear, in his heart, that their gift would be taken from them on the battlefield, as abruptly as it had been granted. Like it had been for Lykon.

That there would be no time for goodbyes or sunsets in Malta.

“Nicky,” Joe said, calling him back to himself. He was running his hands through Nicky’s hair, and his touch, as always, was grounding. “I don’t know if we will have that. I don’t, my heart, how much ever I wish we could too. But I know this. Every night that I get to go to sleep holding you in my arms is a gift. Every day that we have together with our family is a gift. We may not get the picture-perfect retirement that Dr. Smith and Joe the art teacher did, but I will take whatever we are given instead, as long as it’s with you.”

This time, their kiss was mingled with the salt of both of their tears. As they lay there, foreheads touching, Nicky felt the fear recede, and a calmness settle over him. “Joe,” he said, into the silence, “how do you feel about fostering again?”

Joe pulled away slightly. “Are you sure?”

Nicky nodded. He’d never felt surer of anything, he realized. “Not right away. We’re all still finding ourselves as a team, after everything that happened. And I know there is so much that Andy wants to do. But… maybe down the line. When Andy’s older and…”

That was something they had all been determinedly not talking about either. To his surprise, Joe chuckled, a rumble in his chest. “God, she’d make one scary grandma,” and Nicky smiled, tucking his head against Joe’s shoulder. “Of course,” Joe said softly, stroking his hair again. “I would like that.”

“And this time,” he said, tangling his fingers in the softness of Joe’s sleep shirt, “I want it to be us fostering, as an openly gay couple.” No more fake marriages or subterfuge, he thought.

Well, _less_ of it, at any rate.

“If that means another wedding for us in whichever state or country we’re fostering in, count me in,” Joe said, sounding mostly asleep.

Sure enough, when Nicky said, “I love you, Yusuf,” all he got in response was a soft snuffle. With a smile, he kissed Joe’s nose, and turned around carefully in his arms. He reached down, and pulled the light blanket over them both (more over Joe, because Nicky would be more than warm enough in the circle of his arms), and then lay down, gently easing as close to Joe as he could, and drawing his arm – now limp with sleep – more firmly around himself, clasping his hand over his own heart.

Then, he settled down with a sigh, staring out the window again, his mind turning over all they’d discussed. When, at long last, his eyes grew heavy, he took a moment to say a small prayer – that wherever in the city Allison was, her sleep was deep and undisturbed tonight – and finally allowed himself to fall asleep.

*

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to thank [Wings_of_Indigo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wings_of_Indigo/pseuds/Wings_of_Indigo) for sharing this gorgeous piece from the New Yorker: [The untold story of queer foster families](https://www.newyorker.com/news/us-journal/the-untold-story-of-queer-foster-families?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=news_tab&utm_content=algorithm). After reading it, I thought: the next time around, Joe and Nicky _must_ foster queer teens as an openly gay couple, wherever in the world it is most needed <3<3


End file.
